They all finally arrived on Wednesday or so… We were already in the midst of the next project, though, so we continued on with the irrigation system.
Since last May we’ve had a temporary watering system set up for the four pecan, one peach and one nectarine tree that are all planted northeast of the workshop. The new system completely replaces it with a permanent system, complete with automatic valves, underground pipes, etc. The old system was not ideal, since the pvc piping was sitting in the sun (getting more brittle by the day) and occasionally leaked. We have a very large crop of wildflowers all throughout the trees… some of them noxious weeds that I’ve spent a lot of time pulling. We think the new system will reduce the amount of weeds, since the water will only go in the tree wells now. However, for your pleasure, I’m posting a few of the interesting wildflowers we’ve gotten.
No idea what this is...pale lilac color blossoms...daisiesGaillardia pulchellamaybe wild blue flax?Orange wildflowersPurple verbenaAgain... no idea.Calendula starting to bloomLovely clumps of white flowersMore white flowers... scorpion flower in background?Bees like this one...More yellow/purple togetherHappy GaillardiaLovely delicate pink flowers on tall stalksdelicate pink blossomsBachelor buttons among the grassThis one gets stickery, so I yank them out.Mesquite -- they get awful thorns... this one is now gone.Peach and Nectarine treesPecan trees with irrigation system in place
Here are some more photos of the garden, back yard area with irrigation system.
Garden boxes - recycled pvc pipesAfghan pines planted for future windbreakGarden beds and fruit trees...Valves for back yard/afghan pinesPipes for backyard (fig tree in foreground)Front yard... trees irrigated
We were afraid none of the grapevines we got from a friend were alive, but continued watering them… and now we see that they are starting to grow:
We spent a good half day putting in the irrigation system for the garden and orchard. Since we are not in the house, so cannot really use the automatic feature of the system until all the finish plumbing is completed, we will have to manually turn water on to each zone in the meantime. However, it will be nice to have the biggest part of it done early and it does give us a more efficient way of watering trees and garden raised beds until then.
We planned the lines so that each zone covers a particular part of either the orchard or garden and ran a line and capped it for future expansion in the back patio area.
While Oz put the lines together, I was the ditch-digger, cleaning out all the trenches with a trenching shovel. Our first test of the lines showed that we had no leaks in the system, but that dirt and small pebbles were caught in the valves, keeping them from operating properly. After taking them apart and running water to clear the lines, everything works well now.
This project cost about $300, including the controller box. Easily it would have cost $1500 if we paid a subcontractor to do it… another example of the value of sweat equity.PVC lines
I got email notice earlier this week that our fruit trees will be here on Saturday! So… preparation of the orchard, including irrigation system, hole-drilling, etc. had to be done. We mapped out where we want the garden beds to be and planned the irrigation system for them and the grape arbor all at the same time. Together, Oz and I measured out where everything would be and tried to design an efficient system of valves and lines. First, we had planned the tree location (photos earlier); now we planned the layout of the raised beds, marking them with stakes. Using a 4′ x 8′ wood frame for a template, we marked the corners of the bed locations. 6th Bed location
Locating Bed #5Staking out 4'x8' beds
To begin with, we’ll have 6 raised beds, with planned space for 3 more when time and energy allow… we have 6 grape starts promised from a local retired Veterinarian who has an amazing garden, so we planned for those plants along the back garden fenceline, too.
To make the trench-digging easy, we rented a trencher from Davis Hardware (great folks to work with) in Roswell. In only a couple of hours, we had all the trenches for this project dug and returned the machine.
Garden Bed Trenching
Hand Trencher in action
View from the back porch
After trenching was complete… we rented an auger to make hole-digging easier. With 11 fruit trees (yes, the number has increased due to the generosity of a friend, who purchased a fig tree to add to the orchard) and 6 grape plants, we’d never have gotten the holes prepared in time (and would have needed the pickaxe with the ground as hard as it is). In less than an hour, everything was done…
Six grapevines aligned with irrigation linesTree locations prepped
Saturday was canning day for dill pickles and pears. Altogether my Mom, our friend Priscilla and I canned up 14 quarts of pickles and 4 quarts of pears in light syrup. The pears were from the tree in my parents’ back yard. It has taken awhile for them to begin to get really ripe and delicious. You’ll notice the lovely pink color… we added 3 drops of red food coloring to each quart. My Grandma Pickett used to do that, so we carried on the tradition.
As for the pickles, they are from a recipe of my Grandma’s also… she got the recipe from a neighbor in Portland, OR, so they are called:
Mrs. Volz’ Dill Pickles
Pack the cucumbers into clean, hot jars (we used quarts), leaving at least 1/2 inch headspace. Add 1 clove of garlic, a generous sprig of dill, and a grape leaf on top. The recipe says to use a horseradish leaf, so if you have those available, use that instead of the grape leaf (I learned from Priscilla that the grape or horseradish leaf makes the pickles more crisp… all those years I never knew the reason for the grape leaf). If you like, a small red dried hot pepper can be added to each quart jar for a little zip.
Meanwhile, bring to a boil a mixture of 1 quarts water, 1 pint vinegar and 1/2 cup pickling salt (don’t use regular salt with iodine — get pickling salt or use kosher salt). Pour the pickle juice over the cucumbers. Use a plastic utensil to remove air bubbles and make sure to leave 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims clean and add a canning lid (from simmering water); add the ring and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. (This was my addition… Grandma never did the water bath part. Back then, they just let the jars pop from the boiling water and didn’t water bath process them. Nobody ever died from her pickles, but I cannot recommend that you use that method.)
The work on the house continues… but we did have to make use of the wonderful cucumbers from Priscilla’s garden and the pears from Mom and Dad’s tree…
Annanasnaja arguta kiwi
Did you know that kiwis have 10 times the amount of Vitamin C in lemons? There are several different types of hardy kiwis that can grow in many different zones — some as far north as zone 3. The female kiwis, with their beautiful vines can produce up to 25 lbs of fruit each year when mature. Since the kiwis need a male for pollination, and the male can pollinate up to 8 different female vines, I’m thinking we might as well purchase several different varieties to see which produce best for our area and to give us extra fruit for trade and wine-making.
The arguta kiwis produce smaller fruit than the fuzzy fruit we are accustomed to seeing in the grocery stores. Rather, these fruits are smaller, perhaps the size of large grapes, but with the same distinctive kiwi flavor. Without the fuzzy skin, these can be eaten out of hand without peeling. Apparently, they are even sweeter than the grocery store kiwis (and easier to eat, I’m thinking).Ken's Red arguta kiwi
Since they are vines that will need support, I’m envisioning trellises for the outside sitting area in the style of a pergola. Not only will the framework provide support for the vines, but the vines will provide additional shade during the hot summer months.
My plans for using the kiwis (in addition to eating them fresh) include jam-making, juice making and wine-making. Perhaps I can can them for use in pies… I can see that there will be room for experimentation with this fruit that many folks never think of growing in the backyard.Michigan State Hardy
According to what I read about them at the Raintree Nursery site, it seems most varieties are ready to harvest in either September or October. Apparently, you can store them for a very long while in the refrigerator, setting them out on a countertop for softening when you want to eat them.
Since the arguta kiwis are recommended for Zones 5-9, I think we’ll be smack dab in the middle of their ideal growing climate. With first fruit expected in 2-5 years, and an expected life of 50 years, I can see that we have many productive years ahead.
This book is a sort of gateway book into the world of permaculture. With a brief description of the core principles of permaculture, you can get an idea of how to begin thinking the way a permaculturist would in the design of your garden/food forest. Hemenway lays out the basic ideas of permaculture without going into great detail… enough information to be useful, but not so much that you become bogged down in minutiae. Once he lays out the general ideas of the underlying theory, he proceeds to give real-life examples of how the ideas have worked in various locales.
Using permaculture principles in determining garden layout, harvest/storage of water and sunlight, plant biodiversity, a home garden can become less labor intensive and more productive. This book gives many useful ideas for making this happen in your own back yard.
I particularly loved the examples of garden layouts showing non-traditional designs. By using a keyhole gardening bed, you can minimize the space needed for the garden path and maximize growing space (while making the garden more interesting and appealing as well). The herb spiral is another idea that will add beauty and usefulness to the beds right outside the back door.
The theory of zones and how they impact the permaculture design is also discussed, with examples illustrating the ideas. He even shares a zone layout example for a typical 1/4 acre suburban lot that is highly productive.
From design of the space, he moves on to helping with building up the soil. I plan to use his sheet mulching system when setting up our gardens in New Mexico, and will no doubt be referring back to his book often when planning and laying out the garden there.
From plant recommendation, to orchard planning… from attracting helpful insects and birds to chicken tractors, the author puts forward many applications of permaculture principles you can implement at home. The book offers a wonderful appendix with excellent resources including plant suggestions for the various permaculture layers.
This book is a very excellent book to introduce the ideas of permaculture and sustainable food production. I highly recommend it, especially to those who are unfamiliar with permaculture principles. It’s easy to see why this book continues to be a best-seller.
One goal for the homestead will be to establish a greenhouse on the property. By establishing a greenhouse, we’ll be able to take advantage of the space we have available and get a head start on gardening each winter. I have tried starting plants from seed inside during the wintertime and have had mixed results. Since we didn’t have a grow light for the plants, they tended to be very ‘leggy’ due to the lack of proper sunlight. Many of the plants did fine once we transplanted them into the garden, but it wasn’t really ideal. Since we intend to have a much larger space available outside for the garden in New Mexico and will need a great many more starts, it makes sense to establish a place to grow them with plenty of light and space.
It is blazing hot in New Mexico in the summertime, so I know we will need to use shade cloth and roll up the sides for ventilation during the hot months to prevent cooking the plants. However, in the southwest, summertime comes so quickly, it will be wonderful to have a sheltered space to start plants before the last frost to help the garden get a headstart during the winter months.
10' x 15' Greenhouse
I found out about a very nice greenhouse kit by seeing a Youtube video made by Jack Spirko about his newly constructed greenhouse and became very intrigued by the kits sold by Steve at Steve’s Greenhouses.
Additionally, since following Steve’s blog over at http://thegreenhouseguy.com , I’ve become inspired to see if it would be worth it to start more plants than we need for trade or sale. I like his commonsense approach to it and the way he shares what has worked well for him. He sells kits for greenhouses at his other site: http://stevesgreenhouses.com/ His kits offer affordability and ease of construction, I think. For about $1000, you can build a 10′ x 20′ greenhouse (using his basic kit costing $685, plus your own materials for the wood end parts, doors, windows and concrete for the support posts). That is a lot of growing space for the price. He offers ideas for heating and ventilation on his blog, too. According to information at his site, the double-layer plastic should last 6-7 years before requiring replacement and seems to be able to withstand snow and wind very well.
I did a bit more looking around online to see what other options are out there. For some other homebuild kits, I found another site — the Greenhouse megastore — that had a fairly good range of sizes and prices. Even the least expensive model was similar in cost at about $945 including free shipping, but offered much less space for growing. It is a very attractive little greenhouse, though and might be a bit more permanent than the design by Steve. This greenhouse would most likely be approved by many strict HOA’s, so would be a good choice for a family living in a neighborhood and without a huge amount of growing space.
For larger and more permanent designs, I found another site — Greenhouses.com — where there were many options including Cedar and Glass designs, etc. Those kits could run into several thousand dollar costs, so are a bit out of the range of our interest. However, there were many very attractive designs, including the Juliana Gardener (36 sq m = 383 sq. ft) for about $8500.
Juliana Gardener 3600
In my internet searching, I even came across a site where the cost per square foot is more than we plan to spend on our home! Check out the fabulous designs at Gothic Arch Greenhouses. While I cannot see one of these designs giving a return on investment anytime soon, they are very impressive. Let’s see… for a 10′ x 20′ greenhouse of this type, we’d be looking at $20,000! But hey… it looks great and would also give a suburban home the possibility of producing food in winter! You could even refer to it as “The Conservatory” and serve afternoon tea amongst the orchids.
Gothic Arch Greenhouses
I also found a great site at Frugal Living Freedom with designs for building your own greenhouse. This is also very intriguing, so we’ll be considering something of this sort as well. I particularly liked the #2 Design that featured using chain-link fencing top rail material for the structure. It is a very attractive design, too.
This little gardening book is one that I have found to be very helpful. One of the first books I purchased upon my decision to may a foray into the gardening world, I continue to return to it for ideas on crop rotation, tips on tree pruning, etc.
I particularly like the way the book is laid out, giving the reader a pleasant read through, as well as a well-organized reference. The book has three main sections, garden practice, comprehensive plant guide and lastly, problem solving.
Within the garden practice section, you’ll find various topics including assessing your site, crop rotation, growing under cover, and composting. In the detailed plant guide, there is much information that is very specific about particular seed varieties and details such as when to sow, transplanting and when to harvest for each type.
The book layout is very nice, with helpful tabs for the different sections. I love the colorful photos throughout and the color-coded boxes with helpful tips and care charts.
As I begin thinking about our first garden on the new homestead, this book has become another old friend that I am visiting again this winter.
